Police: Duch Killed Daughters To Punish Wife, Prevent `Breeding' * Witness Says He Spared His Sons Because He Wanted Them To `spread His Seed.'

October 21, 1999|by KEITH HERBERT, The Morning Call

After slitting his 9-year-old daughter's throat, Matthew Duch dipped his hand in her blood and scrawled "See U in Hell" on a wall inside the Emmaus home where he also killed another daughter and his mother-in-law last month, according to court testimony Wednesday.

Duch then turned the knife on himself, stabbing both his wrists and holding them under water to prevent his blood from clotting. It didn't work.

FOR THE RECORD - (Published Saturday, October 23, 1999) *The story Thursday about the preliminary hearing for Matthew Duch, charged in the deaths of his mother-in-law and two daughters, contained an incorrect address. The Duchs' home was at 554 Chestnut St., Emmaus.

He then opened a can of beer and drank it before leaving the three bodies to be discovered by his estranged wife.

That's how events of late Sept. 24 into early Sept. 25 unfolded at 544 Chestnut St., according to testimony at a preliminary hearing for Duch, charged with three counts of homicide. Testimony included police telling of Duch's detailed statements about the killings, his actions afterward and his motives.

When the hearing in the Lehigh County Courthouse ended, the handcuffed Duch winked at his wife, Elizabeth Duch, mother of the children, as he was led from the courtroom by deputy sheriffs. Elizabeth Duch, seated in the courtroom's second row with relatives, seemed stunned by the act.

At no time did testimony about the prosecution's evidence appear to faze Duch, who stared blankly while seated at the defense table.

"He killed everyone, had a beer and then left, according to him," said Trooper David Seip of state police at Fogelsville.

Description of how the children, Ashley Duch, 9, and Autumn Victory Duch, 2, were killed drew tears from family members during the hearing.

District Justice Donna Butler ordered Duch to face trial on all charges, which include burglary and criminal trespass. Butler scheduled an arraignment for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 9 in Courtroom 5A in the courthouse.

Duch entered his home, in violation of a court order, about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 24 after fighting over the telephone with his wife, police said. He fatally stabbed June Andresen, his 58-year-old mother-in-law, and his two daughters, police said.

Duch spared his two sons, Justin, 6, and Nicholas, 21 months. Police found Duch the next morning about 10 miles away at the Topton Lutheran Home, Berks County, suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds.

In two separate interviews with police on Sept. 25 -- one in a room at Lehigh Valley Hospital and a second at state police barracks in Fogelsville -- Duch spelled out his reasons for the killings, according to police witnesses.

Trooper Seip testified Duch told him he went to his home that night intent on killing his daughters to penalize his wife, who had obtained a protection-from-abuse order in county court 10 days earlier. The order evicted Duch from his home. Duch also said he wanted to keep his daughters from "breeding," Seip testified.

"He said he wanted to punish his wife and didn't want them to breed her blood," Seip said.

His sons weren't killed "so they could spread his seed," Seip said.

In the second interview, Duch changed his story, Seip said, and claimed he went to the home to get a jacket.

According to witness testimony:

Duch finished his 2-10 p.m. shift at Impress Industries, a manufacturer of corrugated cardboard containers at 726 Broad St., Emmaus. He went to the Turkey Hill Minit Market, 602 Chestnut St. in the borough, and called Elizabeth Duch at her sister's home. Duch wanted his wife to pick him up. He waited at the convenience store for about an hour. He called again, and an argument ensued. A witness told police Duch left the market about 11:20 p.m.

Duch entered the home, perhaps using a key that unlocked the back door, and killed Andresen, who was seated at a table in the living room. Andresen was attacked from behind, her throat cut multiple times, four stab wounds in her chest.

"She had multiple defensive wounds," said Dr. Samuel Land, a forensic pathologist who performed autopsies on the victims. "She was struggling for her life."

Duch said he didn't know why he killed Andresen and didn't recall how many times he stabbed her, Seip said.

The attack on Andresen woke Ashley Duch, whose body was found in a front room. She suffered multiple cuts to her neck that merged into one gaping wound. The girl's thumb was sliced off as she grabbed her neck in an attempt to save her life, Land said.

"This person wasn't willing to die," he said.

Duch then went to the second floor, where he slit the throat of Autumn Victory with a single cut.

"In this case, all that was needed was one," Land said.

Afterward, police said, he scrawled the message on the wall.

Duch went to a bedroom where Nicholas Duch was in a crib. Duch stood over his son and told the boy to "spread his seed," Seip said.

Police said Duch told them he never saw Justin, found curled up in a sleeping bag on the first floor.

Police tried to interview Justin, but the boy shed little light on the killings.

"All we could get out of him was `Daddy hurt Ashley in the living room,'" Seip said.

Duch returned to the first floor, where he slashed his own wrists, and placed his arms in a tub of water to prevent his blood from clotting. He then left the house and walked along the railroad tracks out of Emmaus, ending at the Topton Lutheran Home, where police found a knife Duch routinely carried in his back pocket.

"He said he was just walking," Seip said. "Subsequent investigation revealed his wife worked there at one time."

Before leaving, Duch took time to drink a can of beer.

Seip testified that Duch never showed remorse for the killings, including on Sept. 25 when he was in the back of a police cruiser as troopers stopped in front of his home.

"Even then, there wasn't any remorse," Seip said.

Carmen Marinelli, the public defender representing Duch, said he's still formulating a defense, including investigating Duch's mental condition.

"We're going to do everything for Mr. Duch," Marinelli said. "Everything's going to be investigated."